Childhood Lost

Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).

Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.

Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism

(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)

"What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless."

John Stone,

UK media editor, Age of Autism

​

"The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country."

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

​

Feb 24, 2020, (Parliament’s Magazine) The House: Sarah Jones MP: If we are to tackle this epidemic of youth violence, we must ensure no child is left behind https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/social-affairs/house/house-magazine/110042/sarah-jones-mp-if-we-are-tackle-epidemic-youthThe 70% rise in permanent school exclusions since 2012 shows something has gone seriously wrong, writes Sarah Jones MP.
School exclusions must be a last resort, and alternative education provision must be properly resourced.
Violent crime has doubled over recent years, with more and more young people dying on our streets. It shames us all that in one of the richest countries in the world, thousands of young people feel so unsafe, so directionless or so angry that they choose to pick up a knife. …
But our All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) also heard evidence that some schools were struggling to find resources to support children and manage their behaviour, or being too hasty to exclude a child for minor misbehaviour. The 70% rise in permanent exclusions since 2012 shows something has gone seriously wrong.
Over the same period, knife crime has risen to record levels, with hundreds of young people dying on our streets. One charity told us there was a “disturbing correlation” between children excluded from school and those involved in county lines gang exploitation….
Every excluded child is legally entitled to full-time education in alternative provision, but our investigation found that too often that isn’t happening – with some excluded children getting as little as two hours schooling per day.
Our report, which will be debated in Parliament’s Westminster Hall this week, called for a government review into why so many vulnerable children are getting less support than they would in mainstream school – when in many cases they need more.
Both mainstream schools and alternative provision must have the proper funding and training, so every child gets the support they need. We know that half of excluded children have special educational needs (SEN). Yet SEN support has seen some of the biggest cuts….